Pedestrian Accidents Involving Bicycles Are Underaddressed By The City

New York City is seeing a crisis in bicycle versus motor vehicle accidents, with 19 cyclists killed so far this year. In 2018, there were 10 cyclist deaths in collisions with vehicles. Mayor Bill de Blasio is responding by adding additional biking lanes and allowing bicyclists to move with pedestrians at traffic lights. The city is also enforcing laws meant to keep cyclists safe, such as enforcing speed limits and other traffic laws. However, one aspect of cycling is not being addressed by the city. According to the New York Post, the city is doing nothing about pedestrians who are injured or killed by cyclists.

Through June 30th of this year, there were 127 injuries to pedestrians by bicyclists. This is up 12% from the same period last year, which saw 113 injuries. The great majority of these injuries occurred in Manhattan, where 134 pedestrians were injured, more than half of the 270 injured citywide.

So far in 2019, two pedestrians have been killed in encounters with bicyclists. 60-year-old Michael Collopy was run over by a cyclist while standing in the bike lane in the Flatiron district. He died a week after the accident.

67-year-old Donna Strum was another victim. She was crossing West 57th Street in a crosswalk when a bicyclist slammed into her. The cyclist, who was unidentified ran a red light and struck her, fracturing her skull. The cyclists told police that his gears malfunctioned and his brakes failed. Police issued him a citation and released him.

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